8th December, 2022
Mrs. Rose Bassey, a former Accountant General of Cross River, and three others have been abducted by gunmen in the Uyanga axis of the Calabar-Ogoja highway.
The gunmen who blocked the highway also shot and injured a popular evangelist in the state, Edim-Edim Omin.
The evangelist managed to escape with bullet wounds and now receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
The incident occurred barely 24 hours after the Police Command in the state said it had deployed tactical teams to safeguard motorists plying the highway.
Confirming the incident, the command spokesperson, SP Irene Ugbo said that the four victims were abducted on Tuesday and pledged that the command would track the gunmen and rescue the victims.
“It is a sad reality for us and as I speak with you, the Commissioner of Police is heading to that axis to assess the situation of things himself,” she added.
Ugbo assured that the command would restore normalcy to the highway.
No fewer than 20 persons were kidnapped along the Uyanga-Ikomita axis of the Calabar-Ogoja highway in the last two months.
Among those abducted were two medical doctors who were later released after industrial action by the state chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association.